Article

Kiosk encourages pet owners to step up weight control

The Pet Step kiosk offers in-store weight analysis and tracking for a variety of household pets.

August 21, 2013 by Natalie Gagliordi — Editor of KioskMarketplace.com, Networld Media Group

Most pet owners are unaware or unnaccepting to the fact that their animal is packing a few too many pounds. But according to the Association for Pet Obesity Prevention, 50 percent of cats and dogs are overweight and 20 percent are obese.

This is a problem that James Hummer plans to address with the founding of the Pet Step — a health care kiosk dedicated to man's best friend (felines included). 

Hummer originally entered the world of kiosks while working on the design and manufacturing of the HealthSpot, the walk-in, telemedicine kiosks that enable live diagnostics and video conferencing with a physician. But Hummer decided it was time to branch out on his own.

"I started to think of a way to develop a kiosk and began to speak with veterinarians for research on pet health," Hummer said. "It jumped out that over half of the pet population is overweight or obese, and that only a small percent of owners realize that."

So Hummer began developing the Pet Step as an in-store health kiosk that makes it easy for pet owners to weigh their pets, track any gains or losses and analyze the data based on the animal's breed, age and gender.

Manufactured by Ohio-based EB Designs, the kiosk features a touchscreen — which also serves as an attract screen with clickable banners — and a scale and receipt printer.

Hummer said the current iteration of the kiosk is deployed in four pet supply retailers in Massachusetts and North Carolina, and that more capabilities will be built into the Pet Step in the near future, including:

• Food recommendations and comparison tool;
• Veterinarian directory and vet portal;
• Customizable couponing based on pet profile;
• Integration with store rewards programs;
• Flea and tick prevention information and recommendations;
• Heartworm prevention information and recommendations; and
• A companion website and mobile application.

With the current state of the pet services industry, there is no indication that pet owners plan to ease up on the level of care they provide their animals. Last year, pet owners in the United States spent more than $53 billion dollars on products and services for their fur babies. That figure is expected to rise to around $55 billion for 2013 expenditures, according to the American Pet Products Association — with nearly half of that going toward veterinary services and medicine.

Hummer hopes the kiosk will not only become an indispensable health care tool for pet owners, but also an enticing solution for pet supply retailers looking to expand their services and develop a deeper engagement with their shoppers.

"Our goal is to create a hub for pet owners at pet stores to monitor their pet's health," Hummer said. "My thought is that, if you take the kiosk model and give people a free way to monitor their pets' health, that is not only valuable to the consumer and the pet owner but also the store, as a way to give retailers a chance to engage their customers."

Read more about health kiosks in retail.